More Palio, and more Controversy...

 We have of course had the Palio dell'Assunta, which according to time honoured tradition is run on the 16th of July. But there now seems to be a new development, which means that virtually every recent Palio has been postponed because of rain... 

So, yes, it happened again, and it was run not just one day later, but two, so it eventually happened on the 18th of August. Interestingly, we had not seen a drop of rain since the last Palio.

And here it is: the actual Palio, the painted silk flag that is won by the victorious Contrada. It is painted by the Romanian artist Teodora Axente, and has caused a storm of controversy with the conservative Sienese, who always complain about every Palio which is unveiled about a week before the Palio is run. So a bit of grumbling is more or less expected. However, this time it caused such a rumpus that the Maire had to give a press conference about it, where she defended her choice of the artist, on the point of tears. 

The main complaints are that the face of the Madonna (which always have to feature)  is seen as being too strong, and 'masculine'. But that is just the beginning... there are gnashings of teeth and murmurs of 'sacrilege' and blasphemy, for reasons I cannot fathom very clearly, but it has got to the point of getting an archbishop involved in the fray as well and people writing learned articles about the traditions that should be adhered to, as well as others who maintain that artistic freedom should be sacrosanct as well... It has been most entertaining. 

I think the beleaguered artist is really very good, technically superb, with a strange surreal and sometimes disturbing vision. Here is one from her exhibition at Santa Maria Della Scala: Waiting for the Dive, oil on canvas, 204x170cm:

The other big controversy - and frankly one that does need sorting out- is the way the race was run this time. It was once more Tittia who won his 13th victory on the horse Anda e Bola for Nicchio, this time also a contrada that had not won the Palio for more than 20 years.

 But this time is was really too obvious that he was the one who decided when the race started, and not the 'run-in'  jockey. Even I, who have  never been part of  this anti Tittia sentiment,  have to say that I am disappointed with the powers that decide what is and is not allowed...

Anyway, the August Palio is over, and with that comes the nostalgic feeling that the summer is over...

The Guest of the Month of August will be the very nice photographer  Gianni from Le Marche on the Adriatic side of Italy, who came to stay here for Palio, and here we are at the Cena Della Prova Generale:

Gianni is the great nephew of  a famous jockey, MEZZETO, who rode many Palios here in Siena and who won both the July and August Palio in 1956. There is a You Tube documentary about him. He rode for Onda too, but did not win for us. But all the old people had heard of him and  were excited to meet his great nephew. I think he felt welcome. A lovely evening this time, it only started raining the following day...

Javeline: Guest of the Month of July

 The lovely young Javeline, concert pianist from Zurich,  will be the Guest of the Month of July 2026.  She was here again for a second summer visit, attending the Chigiana Academy's Summer Master Classes. Above she is seen playing her exam piece: Prokofiev's Sonata no 1.  Just like last summer her mother joined her at the end, and Paolo (my architect) and Ilaria took the golden opportunity to make a very special Dinner with Piano Recital afterwards in their splendid large flat on Via Montanini, which Paolo has just inherited from his father. 

And there has been other noteworty  events: I went for a brief visit to Sweden, just to Skane, the southernmost tip of my long country, where first of all I stayed with my old friend Sanna in Skanor. She had managed to locate a mutual friend of ours from our teen age years, an old boyfriend of mine whom I had not seen for 54 years...Michael and I did some modelling together once or twice in those days, and here we are, advertising a hip new shop for the youth of Malmo in 1972: 

We have changed a little of course... and here we are, 54 years later:

 

 

I also went to my lovely Summer Paradise Torekov, to see all my cousins and also other friends from my early Swedish life.  Here is below Cousin Pelle with Nanni, in their Black Queen and King outfits: a Chess Game with Live Pieces was played on the lawn. I was a Black Pawn. 

                                          

 As a last stop in Brantevik, I visited my dear friend Eva Emneus , the former Swedish Ambassador to Mali, who was always so kind and generous towards Keita and me, and with whom I have always stayed in contact. She continued her efforts to rekindle all things Swedish in me, this time she had organized a 'Kraftskiva' just for us two, and that is the lovely late summer Swedish Crayfish tradition. Delicious! 

So now things are limbering up to the next Palio, on the 16th of August... More anon!